Introduction
Choosing the right retention and wishlist tools is a frequent pain point for Shopify merchants. With thousands of apps available, many stores end up juggling multiple single-purpose tools that overlap, conflict, or add technical debt. This comparison looks at two prominent Shopify apps that both sit in the wishlist/registry space but take different approaches: Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist and Gift Reggie: Gift Registry.
Short answer: Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist is a multi-feature retention platform that combines loyalty, referrals, reviews, and wishlist functionality into one package and is best for merchants who want consolidation and long-term LTV improvements. Gift Reggie: Gift Registry is a specialist registry and wishlist app that is well suited for stores that need focused wedding, baby, or event registries with straightforward configuration and lower entry price. For merchants who want fewer apps and more long-term retention lift, Growave offers better value for money.
The purpose of this article is to provide an in-depth, feature-by-feature comparison of Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist and Gift Reggie: Gift Registry so merchants can match app capabilities to real business needs. The comparison covers core features, pricing and value, integrations, implementation, customer support, use cases, and migration considerations. After that, the article explains how an all-in-one retention platform can reduce tool sprawl and why some merchants choose to consolidate.
Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist vs. Gift Reggie: Gift Registry: At a Glance
| Aspect | Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist | Gift Reggie: Gift Registry |
|---|---|---|
| Core Function | Multi-feature retention platform: Loyalty, Referrals, Reviews, Wishlist, VIP Tiers | Focused gift registry, wedding/baby registries, and wishlists |
| Best For | Merchants who want to consolidate retention tools and increase customer LTV | Merchants who primarily need event-specific registries (weddings, baby showers) and simple wishlists |
| Number of Reviews | 1,197 | 172 |
| Rating | 4.8 / 5 | 4.8 / 5 |
| Key Features | Loyalty & Rewards, VIP tiers, Referral campaigns, Reviews & UGC, Wishlist, POS & checkout integrations | Create registries, wishlists, shareable lists, email notifications, POS support, stock tracking (higher tiers) |
| Pricing Range | Free → $499/mo (four tiers) | $9 → $40/mo (four tiers) |
| Notable Integrations | Klaviyo, Omnisend, Gorgias, Recharge, Shopify POS, Shopify Flow | Shopify POS, Customer accounts, Shopify Flow |
| Ideal Outcome | Increase repeat purchases and lifetime value by consolidating retention tactics | Sell high-margin registry items, reduce returns, and drive event-driven purchases |
Deep Dive Comparison
This section compares the two apps across relevant merchant-facing criteria. The goal is to be objective and practical: merchants should be able to identify which app better matches their needs and where trade-offs exist.
Core Functionality and Feature Set
Growave: What it does and why it matters
Growave is positioned as a retention platform that bundles multiple complementary tools. The combination of loyalty, referrals, reviews, and wishlist functionality is designed to create compounding effects on customer lifetime value (LTV). Specific capabilities include:
- Loyalty and rewards programs with configurable actions (points for purchase, reviews, social follows).
- VIP tiers to segment and reward high-value customers.
- Referral programs with fraud protection and rewards.
- Product reviews and user-generated content (UGC) collection and display.
- Wishlist and back-in-stock notifications tied to wishlist items.
- Checkout and Shopify POS integration for in-store redemption.
- Headless and Shopify Plus support for advanced storefronts.
Why it matters: Using one platform to manage multiple retention levers reduces integration gaps, ensures consistent customer experience, and makes it easier to measure combined impact on repeat purchase rates.
Gift Reggie: What it does and why it matters
Gift Reggie focuses on building registries and wishlists for events like weddings, baby showers, and other gift-driven occasions. Its feature set centers on:
- Creating public or private registries (wedding, baby, general).
- Allowing customers to build and share wishlists by social or email.
- Notifications for registry activity (purchases, shares).
- Administrative tools for staff to manage registries and track stock (higher plans).
- POS compatibility and optional API access on advanced tiers.
Why it matters: For stores that derive a meaningful portion of revenue from registries, a specialist app with dedicated registry features (capacity, password protection, messaging) drives conversion at the point of intent and reduces returns.
Feature Comparison — Head-to-Head
- Wishlist: Both apps support wishlists. Growave integrates wishlist functionality into a broader retention loop (back-in-stock emails, points for wishlist actions); Gift Reggie focuses on registry-centric wishlists with sharing and event flows.
- Registry-specific features: Gift Reggie provides password-protected registries, customized registry messaging, registry limits (depending on plan), and stock-tracking for registry items. Growave does not market dedicated wedding/baby registry flows with the same depth.
- Loyalty & Referrals: Growave has built-in loyalty, VIP tiers, referral programs, and reward actions. Gift Reggie does not include loyalty or referral mechanics—those are out of its scope.
- Reviews & UGC: Growave includes review collection and display as part of its suite. Gift Reggie does not handle reviews as a core function.
- POS & Checkout: Both support Shopify POS, but Growave extends to checkout extensions and account integrations at higher tiers, offering more flexibility for omnichannel redemptions.
- Headless / Plus Support: Growave explicitly supports Shopify Plus and headless setups with API/SDK options on the Plus tier. Gift Reggie offers API accessibility only on its top Expert plan.
Pricing and Value for Money
Pricing should be evaluated not only by monthly cost but by the business value delivered: increased conversion, reduced returns, higher repeat purchase rates, and lower maintenance overhead.
Growave Pricing Overview
- Free: Limited to 100 orders/month (500 total orders), includes loyalty points, wishlist, product reviews, imports/exports, Growave branding, and 48hr email support.
- Entry ($49/mo): Advanced rewards, referral program with fraud protection, review request email series, POS and Shopify Flow support, +1 integration (e.g., Klaviyo), customizable emails, 24/7 email support.
- Growth ($199/mo): VIP tiers, dedicated loyalty page, POS loyalty QR, points expiration & gift cards, Google Shopping Reviews & Instagram UGC, back-in-stock wishlist emails, onboarding and 24/7 support.
- Plus ($499/mo): Checkout extensions, headless API & SDK, custom loyalty page design, custom reward actions, unlimited integrations, customer success manager, dedicated launch plan, 24/7 multi-channel support.
Value considerations:
- The Entry plan offers multiple retention levers (loyalty + referrals + reviews + wishlist) for $49, which can replace several single-purpose apps.
- Higher tiers are aimed at merchants who need enterprise features, customizations, or dedicated support; pricing reflects that scope.
Gift Reggie Pricing Overview
- Basic ($9/mo): 7-day trial, 5 free registries, unlimited wishlists, customizable styling, social sharing, email notifications.
- Essentials ($15/mo): 7-day trial, 25 free registries, password-protected registries, email sharing, registry messaging.
- Professional ($30/mo): 30-day trial, 50 free registries, customizable content, stock tracking and warnings.
- Expert ($40/mo): 30-day trial, 100 free registries, POS support, custom line item property tracking, API access.
Value considerations:
- Gift Reggie has a lower entry price, which is attractive for stores that only need registry functionality.
- The tiered registry limits make sense for event-driven stores; higher plans add essential administrative features for staff and POS.
Pricing Comparison — Practical Notes
- For stores that only need occasional registries and simple wishlists, Gift Reggie provides low-cost, focused functionality with predictable pricing.
- For stores that want to influence repeat purchases, run referral campaigns, capture reviews, and use wishlists as part of a retention loop, Growave offers better value for money because a single monthly fee covers multiple retention strategies that can compound over time.
- Merchants should calculate how many apps they would otherwise need to replicate Growave’s feature set and compare the combined monthly cost plus integration/maintenance time.
Integrations and Technical Compatibility
Growave Integrations
Growave lists integrations with many common e-commerce tools and services:
- Email & automation: Klaviyo, Omnisend.
- Helpdesk & CX: Gorgias, Attentive.
- Subscriptions: Recharge.
- Messaging & push: PushOwl, Postscript.
- Page builders & storefronts: Pagefly, LayoutHub, GemPages, Shopney.
- Shopify features: Checkout, Shopify POS, Customer accounts, Shopify Flow.
- Headless/Plus support: API & SDK on Plus plan.
Integration impact: Growave is designed to slot into an existing tech stack and share data with analytics and marketing platforms—this makes multi-channel campaigns and lifecycle automation easier.
Gift Reggie Integrations
Gift Reggie integrates primarily with Shopify-native capabilities:
- Shopify POS, Customer accounts, Shopify Flow.
- Some localization (Langify).
- API accessibility on Expert plan for custom integrations.
Integration impact: Gift Reggie is optimized for registry flows inside Shopify and POS environments. It is less focused on broad external marketing integrations; external workflows typically require manual export or API work on higher tiers.
Integration Comparison — Practical Notes
- If a store relies heavily on Klaviyo or needs review automation that feeds marketing flows, Growave provides native hooks.
- If the requirement is registry-first and the store uses Shopify POS for in-person purchases, Gift Reggie covers that core need effectively, with API access at higher tiers.
- Growave’s broader integration set makes it a stronger candidate for stores that prioritize lifecycle marketing and measurement across channels.
Implementation, UX, and Customization
Growave Implementation
- Growave provides a range of customization options, from basic theming to full loyalty page custom design on Plus plans.
- Onboarding includes documentation, and higher tiers include a dedicated customer success manager and onboarding plan.
- The platform supports headless implementations and checkout extensions for Shopify Plus merchants.
Merchant experience:
- For merchants who want a polished, consistent retention experience across site, checkout, and POS, Growave’s tools enable cohesive design and cross-channel redemption flows. The initial setup can require configuration of point actions and rewards, but this is typical for loyalty programs.
Gift Reggie Implementation
- Gift Reggie adapts to the theme’s look and feel for registries and wishlists.
- Implementation for basic registry features is straightforward: creating registry templates, enabling sharing, and allowing customers to add items.
- Administrative tools for staff are available on higher plans for POS and stock tracking.
Merchant experience:
- Gift Reggie’s focused scope means a shorter path to launch for registry use cases. The admin flows are direct, and the social/email sharing features help registry discoverability.
UX and Customer-Facing Experience
- Growave emphasizes branded loyalty pages, in-account experiences, and checkout integrations to make reward redemption frictionless.
- Gift Reggie centers on attractive, shareable registry pages and simple guest-facing workflows for event participants.
Which is more customizable? Growave offers deeper customization options for loyalty pages and checkout experiences on higher plans; Gift Reggie focuses customization on the look of registries and messaging.
Support, Documentation, and Reliability
Growave Support
- 24/7 support channels on higher tiers; 24/7 email support at Entry and above.
- Plus plans include phone support, live chat, and a customer success manager.
- The app has substantial documentation and resources for merchants, plus dedicated onboarding options for Growth/Plus tiers.
- User ratings and volume: approximately 1,197 reviews with a 4.8 rating indicate broad adoption and consistent positive feedback.
Gift Reggie Support
- Dedicated support team available; trial periods to test fit.
- Support tends to be focused on setup and registry administration.
- User ratings: 172 reviews with a 4.8 rating, a strong score that indicates satisfied users among those with registry-specific needs.
Support comparison notes:
- Growave’s higher review volume suggests more widespread use and more public feedback to evaluate performance.
- Gift Reggie’s support is tailored to registry workflows and is appropriate for retailers focused on event-based sales.
Reporting, Data, and Measurability
Growave Reporting
- Tracking of loyalty points, referrals, redemption rates, and how rewards influence repeat purchase behavior.
- Integration with analytics and email platforms improves the ability to tie retention programs to LTV metrics.
- Review and UGC metrics can feed into product and marketing decisions.
Why this matters:
- Measuring changes to repeat rate, average order value (AOV), and churn helps merchants justify spend and refine programs.
Gift Reggie Reporting
- Registry purchases and registry-level activity can be monitored.
- Stock warnings and purchase notifications help manage fulfillment and returns for registry items.
Why this matters:
- For event-driven sales, tracking registry conversions and purchased items is the most critical metric; Gift Reggie focuses on that.
Security, Compliance, and Fraud Protection
- Growave includes referral fraud protection in Entry and above, an important feature to prevent abuse of incentives.
- Both apps operate inside Shopify and adhere to Shopify’s platform security standards.
- For merchants operating at scale or taking regulatory requirements seriously, Growave’s enterprise plans provide more comprehensive controls and support.
Use Cases and Which App Fits Best
This section offers practical guidance on which app to choose based on merchant priorities.
Choose Growave if:
- The goal is long-term retention: building loyalty programs, referral engines, and review flows to increase LTV.
- Minimizing the number of apps and integrations is a priority to reduce maintenance and load time issues.
- The merchant uses Klaviyo or similar platforms and wants native integrations to automate review and reward flows.
- Shopify Plus or headless implementation is in use or planned; advanced checkout and account extensions are needed.
- The store expects to use loyalty for both online and in-store (POS) redemptions.
Benefits for these merchants:
- Consolidation of multiple retention tactics into one platform reduces complexity and improves measurement.
- Higher-tier support and onboarding reduce time-to-value for complex launches.
Choose Gift Reggie if:
- The primary priority is event-driven registry sales (weddings, baby showers, other gift registries).
- The store needs a low-cost, quick-to-launch registry with social sharing and password protection.
- The merchant has limited technical resources and wants a specialist app that requires minimal configuration.
- POS-based registry purchases are critical and the store prefers a focused registry admin experience.
Benefits for these merchants:
- Lower monthly cost while covering the core registry use case.
- Easier admin flows for staff managing registries, especially on the Essentials/Professional tiers.
Migration and Coexistence Considerations
- It is possible for a merchant to run both apps simultaneously if the strategy requires registry-specific functionality plus loyalty/UGC elsewhere. Careful attention is required to avoid overlapping widgets or duplicated customer-facing elements.
- Migrating registry functionality away from Gift Reggie into a platform like Growave would require building registry flows (if supported) or replicating behavior via wishlists and custom pages; Growave is not primarily a registry specialist and may not match the event features Gift Reggie provides out of the box.
- Migrating from multiple apps into Growave often reduces overall maintenance and can consolidate analytics, but requires configuration of the loyalty and referral mechanics and testing across checkout and POS.
The Alternative: Solving App Fatigue with an All-in-One Platform
Many merchants reach a tipping point known as app fatigue: the accumulation of single-purpose apps creates administrative overhead, slower page loads, more data silos, and higher long-term cost. The decision to adopt several specialist apps often feels incremental at the start — each app solves one problem — but collectively they can hinder growth.
What is App Fatigue?
App fatigue occurs when the number of third-party tools reaches a point where operational complexity begins to outweigh feature benefits. Symptoms include:
- Multiple billing lines for apps that overlap in functionality.
- Conflicting UI elements on storefronts and duplicated scripts.
- Disconnected customer data requiring manual reconciliation.
- Increased friction when launching new campaigns because each tool must be configured separately.
Reducing app fatigue is not inherently about using fewer tools; it is about using tools that drive the most high-impact outcomes (retain customers, increase LTV, reduce returns) while minimizing integration work.
Growave’s "More Growth, Less Stack" Value Proposition
Growave promotes a philosophy of consolidating essential retention features into one platform so merchants can focus on growth instead of tool management. The core idea is to replace multiple single-point apps with one integrated suite that handles loyalty, referrals, reviews, UGC, and wishlists.
Key tactical benefits:
- Consolidated data: points, referrals, reviews, and wishlist behavior feed into a single data model, simplifying measurement.
- Reduced maintenance: one app to update, one vendor relationship, fewer scripts on the storefront.
- Faster experimentation: changes to rewards or review automations can be implemented centrally, speeding iteration cycles.
- Better omnichannel consistency: unified logic for points redemption, whether online checkout or in-store POS.
To evaluate whether consolidation is right for a store, merchants should consider the expected uplift per feature and the monthly cost of the alternative app stack. For many stores, combining loyalty, referrals, review automation, and wishlist-driven back-in-stock flows in one product provides better ROI than multiple specialist subscriptions.
How Growave Maps to Core Retention Needs
- Loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases are a central Growave capability, enabling merchants to incentivize desired behaviors across channels. See how loyalty can replace separate point apps by exploring loyalty features with clear reward actions and VIP tiers in the platform. loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases
- Collect and showcase authentic reviews through review automation and UGC tools that feed into product pages and collect post-purchase feedback without needing a separate review app. collect and showcase authentic reviews
- Consolidate retention features to reduce the number of subscriptions and integrations, streamlining billing and admin tasks. Merchants looking to consolidate retention features can compare pricing tiers and see which mix of features best matches growth goals. consolidate retention features
- For stores operating at enterprise scale, Growave supports advanced checkout and headless flows while providing the account and loyalty extensions required for complex redemptions—an important differentiator for Shopify Plus merchants who demand tailored checkout experiences and dedicated support. Solutions for high-growth Plus brands often require a partner capable of supporting checkout-level customizations. solutions for high-growth Plus brands
Practical Examples of Consolidation Benefits (No Fictional Scenarios)
- A merchant using a separate loyalty app, a separate review app, and a third wishlist app can migrate to a single platform to see unified reporting on how points influence repeat purchase rate and how review solicitation impacts AOV. This reduces duplicate scripts on product pages and simplifies promotional targeting in email flows.
- When a wishlist triggers a back-in-stock email and that customer receives additional points for the purchase, the combined flow increases the likelihood of conversion and raises the perceived value of the loyalty program, boosting program engagement metrics.
How Growave Integrations Reduce Technical Overhead
Growave integrates with common marketing and operations platforms so that reward events, review submissions, and referral conversions can trigger downstream campaigns and helpdesk workflows. Examples:
- Seamless data transfer to ESPs for triggered messages increases automation velocity while keeping customer lifecycle behavior centralized.
- Integrations with helpdesk platforms allow CX teams to view loyalty and registry context inside support tickets.
Merchants can check integration and plan options when evaluating whether consolidation reduces technical overhead and improves campaign performance. consolidate retention features
Two Feature Links in Context (Repeated as Required)
- The loyalty engine is a core driver of long-term revenue. Merchants evaluating a multi-feature approach should consider how a single loyalty program ties into referral and review actions to create compounding retention effects. Learn more about loyalty mechanics and reward actions tailored to lifecycle goals. loyalty and rewards that drive repeat purchases
- Review collection and display have a direct effect on conversion rates. Rather than maintaining a separate reviews app, combining review automation with referral and loyalty incentives can amplify social proof and drive higher AOV. collect and showcase authentic reviews
Seeing the App on Shopify and Checking Pricing
- Merchants who prefer to install from the Shopify App Store can evaluate the Growave listing and reviews to see how the tool behaves in real stores. This is useful for initial validation and when comparing public feedback. try Growave on the Shopify App Store
- For detailed plan comparisons and to determine whether consolidation reduces overall cost, merchants should review price tiers and included features to match feature coverage against current tool spend. consolidate retention features
Migration and Coexistence — Realistic Paths
- Coexistence path: A merchant may run Gift Reggie for registry-specific needs while adopting Growave for loyalty, referrals, and reviews. This hybrid approach leverages Gift Reggie’s registry depth while minimizing overlap.
- Consolidation path: A merchant who prioritizes retention across lifecycle stages can move wishlist and review flows into Growave and maintain registry functionality separately if needed.
- Implementation timeline considerations: Consolidation often requires configuration of reward rules, mapping marketing automations, and QA across checkout and POS. For complex migrations, Growave’s onboarding and customer success resources on Growth/Plus plans reduce risk and shorten launch timelines.
Conclusion
For merchants choosing between Growave: Loyalty & Wishlist and Gift Reggie: Gift Registry, the decision comes down to scope and priorities. Gift Reggie is a focused, lower-cost specialist for stores that need robust registry and wishlist features for events like weddings and baby showers. Growave is a multi-feature retention platform with loyalty, referral, reviews, and wishlist capabilities designed to increase repeat purchases and lifetime value while reducing app sprawl.
Merchants prioritizing event-based registries and minimal initial spend will find Gift Reggie compelling. Merchants aiming to consolidate retention features, improve LTV, and centralize data will find better value for money with an integrated platform. For stores that want to reduce the number of tools while scaling retention programs, Growave’s “More Growth, Less Stack” approach reduces complexity and makes it easier to measure the combined impact of loyalty, reviews, referrals, and wishlists. Merchants evaluating consolidation can compare plans and see whether combining features into one platform simplifies operations and drives sustainable growth. consolidate retention features
Start a 14-day free trial to see how a unified retention stack accelerates growth. compare plans and start a trial
FAQ
- How do the apps compare on social proof and reviews?
- Growave includes review collection and UGC tools as part of its platform, enabling automated review requests and display options that feed marketing automation. Gift Reggie does not offer review management as a core feature; it focuses on registry flows rather than social proof mechanics.
- Which app is better for wedding and baby registries?
- Gift Reggie is tailored to wedding and baby registries with password-protected registries, messaging, and registry sharing designed specifically for events. Growave can support wishlists and back-in-stock notifications, but it does not match the dedicated registry feature set out of the box.
- How does an all-in-one platform compare to specialized apps?
- An all-in-one platform consolidates related functions (loyalty, referrals, reviews, wishlist) to reduce integration work, centralize data, and let merchants measure combined effects on retention. Specialized apps can be lighter and cheaper for a single use case but increase tool count and administrative overhead when multiple retention levers are needed.
- Is Growave more suitable for enterprise or Shopify Plus merchants?
- Growave includes Plus-tier features for checkout extensions, headless implementations, and dedicated customer success resources, making it a stronger match for high-growth and Shopify Plus stores that require advanced customizations and enterprise support. See platform capabilities and Plus support to determine fit. solutions for high-growth Plus brands







